Lesson 3: Planning Your Development Sprint
Unit 3: Designing Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Introduction: The Agile Method
In the world of professional software development, teams use a method called **Agile**. It’s all about being flexible, responding to change, and delivering small, working pieces of a product quickly. Instead of building the entire project at once, you break it down into short, focused periods called **sprints**.
A sprint is a fixed period of time (usually one or two weeks) where your team commits to completing a specific set of tasks. This approach makes large, complex projects feel manageable and helps you track your progress with clear goals.
Part 1: The Sprint Planning Process
Here are the key steps to follow when planning your sprint:
Step 1: Write User Stories
Instead of just listing tasks, write them as **user stories**. This helps you remember who the task is for and why it’s important. The format is simple: “As a [type of user], I want to [do something], so that I can [get a benefit].”
Step 2: Estimate Task Effort
How difficult is each task? Work with your team to assign a simple **effort score** (or “story points”) to each user story. A common scale is 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. A “1” is very easy, while an “8” is very complex. This helps you figure out how much you can complete in a sprint.
Step 3: Define Your Sprint Goal
What is the main objective of this sprint? A good goal is clear and achievable. For example, your sprint goal might be: “To create a working login and user dashboard.” All the user stories you choose for the sprint should contribute to this goal.
Step 4: Track Progress with a Kanban Board
Use a visual board (like a simple whiteboard or the one below) to show the status of each task. Move tasks from “To Do” to “In Progress” and finally to “Completed.” This gives everyone a clear view of the team’s progress.
Interactive Activity: Sprint Planning Board
Drag the user stories from the **To Do** column to **In Progress** as you begin them, and finally to **Completed** when they are finished. Watch your team’s progress and total score update!
Sprint Progress: 0/20 points
To Do
As a user, I want to create a new account.
As a user, I want to be able to sign in securely.
As a team member, I want to design the main user dashboard.
As an admin, I want to be able to reset a user’s password.
As a user, I want to see a “Sign Out” button on the dashboard.
In Progress
Completed
Your Mission
Now, it’s your turn to apply these concepts. Work with your team to define a goal for your project’s first sprint. Write your user stories, assign effort points, and use a board to track your progress. When you’ve completed all your tasks, you will have a working MVP that you can show off!
